“Cheaper than a visit to the hospital. You can set them up to call someone like me instead of an ambulance if you want to.” River didn’t want to pressure her or make her feel morevulnerable than she already did. Too often, choice was taken from the elderly.
“This one.” She nodded definitively. “Can you get it set up for me?”
River came over and looked at the small, discreet button that hung from a simple cord long enough to hide beneath a shirt. “Let’s do it now.”
Audrey’s client left while they were still filling out information, and she took over the packing for the festival. When Mrs. Crabtree made it clear there was no next of kin or any family of any kind, River felt Audrey’s energy flicker in sympathy. River didn’t have anyone either, and she couldn’t help but wonder if the ghosts in her house would be upset to see her body being eaten by Shamus.
They finished, and Mrs. Crabtree pushed to her feet. Audrey came around the counter, car keys swinging from her fingertips. “I’ll give you a lift to wherever you’re headed next. I need to go stock up on food because River will leave me to get hangry while she flirts with women in coffee shops.”
Mrs. Crabtree threw River a warning glance as she headed for the door. “So long as you keep your head.”
They left together, and River finished the final bits for the festival. Lunch was a quickly swallowed PB&J before her afternoon tarot readings began. The pace had slowed a little since the initial burst, but even so, it was far busier than usual this time of year.
Between two of her readings, her phone buzzed.
Could we meet up? Professional, not personal.
River liked personal with Marina way better.Sure. But I’m slammed today and working the Apple Festival all weekend.Since it wasn’t personal, suggesting dinner seemed like a bad idea.
The three dots showing Marina was typing appeared, then stopped, then appeared. Then stopped. Clearly, she was trying to find a politic way of saying something, and River’s guard went up.
Could I swing by your booth at the fest? It’s important.
So long as you don’t have a smoothie, that should be fine. Stop by whenever.It wasn’t overly friendly, but then, it wasn’t a friendly situation.
Thanks. X
The bell over the front door chimed, and she left her phone in the breakroom. No need to take that kind of feeling anywhere else into her special place.
By the end of the day, her neck hurt and she needed a metaphysical shower to rid herself of all the energy that had slid around her. One woman had left crying because she’d hoped River could tell her what to do with her life, but River’s reading had suggested the woman needed to do some deep emotional healing work before anything else. The sobbing suggested she might, or might not, be ready for that.
Leo had also sent a screenshot of a variety of messages about River; most of them were sexual in nature, and none of them held any interest for her whatsoever. But Leo assured her they were taking care of it and just wanted to keep them in the loop. Apparently, their follower numbers had quadrupled since Leo had taken over. At least that was one less thing River and Audrey had to worry about.
The door chimed, and she looked up to say they were closed, but it was Billy, his big, goofy smile bringing light into the dim space. Her spirits instantly lifted.
“Hello, my devourer of the desperate,” he said, sweeping a low bow.
“Eww.” She grinned and tossed a gemstone to him. “Do better.”
He looked at his watch. “I don’t have time. Come on. I’m butchnapping you for a few hours. We’re going to be crazy busy this weekend, and we need a minute to ourselves.” He waved impatiently. “Get your boxers moving. I’ll tell you all about my little vacation on the way.”
She shooed him toward the door. “Then move aside, you big lug.” They exited, and she locked the door behind her before following him to his car. Once they were on their way, she said, “Where to?”
“Have you been to Vancouver? It’s amazing. You know when something is so perfect and beautiful and overwhelming that you just wish you could…ingest it?” He glanced at her, swerving to narrowly miss a car with Miss Piggy painted on the back window.
“Yeah, I’ve felt that. At the Grand Canyon, the last time.” She shrugged at the little photo of him with an attractive guy with a beard. “I don’t remember this one’s name, sorry.”
“Ben.” He laughed when she rolled her eyes.
“Billy and Ben? Very cutesy.”
“We’re going to start a B&B.” He yanked the wheel to the left and swore at the driver doing the speed limit. “Not really. But I do like him, and the sex was fucking phenomenal.”
“Glad to hear it,” she said, grasping the door handle to keep from getting thrown to the other side of the car. “Are we there yet?”
“Nearly.” He stopped at a light and glared at it as though trying to change it by force of thought. “I saw you on TV. You looked super hot. Totally relaxed. I’d be on your side even if they hadn’t left me four letters asking me to get in touch about an offer that was so low I would have set it on fire and thrown it at their feet if I’d been there to take it.”
River could picture him doing just that, but they were pulling into a parking lot behind a large building. “Axetastic?” she asked.
